


Underdogs

by DashFlintceschi



Series: Prompt Table [9]
Category: You Me At Six
Genre: Dan has a temper, Josh decides to start a band, Josh learns not to be scared of Dan's temper, M/M, Mentions of past abuse, They're all amputees
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-17
Updated: 2016-07-17
Packaged: 2018-07-24 14:57:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,442
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7512581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DashFlintceschi/pseuds/DashFlintceschi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Just because they're amputees, doesn't mean they have to let themselves be underdogs for the rest of their lives.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Underdogs

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt table number 18: Scars.

When Josh’s therapist encourages him to start singing again, it gives him an idea. He’s finally gotten himself to stop believing that he’s totally useless now that he’s an amputee, and he wants to make sure other people rid themselves of the notion too, so he decides to start a band, made up entirely of amputees. He asks around the friends he made during rehab, and three of them are up for it.

Within a few months, the four of them are getting on great, writing some really great songs and really becoming a solid unit. The only problem is, they still can’t find a drummer. Max solves the problem when he goes back to the physical therapy department for his six month check-up. He’s just settled into a chair in the waiting room, when he sees a face he thinks he recognises, though it’s so scarred, he can’t be sure. He watches the guy as he limps to the check-in desk, listening closely for his name. As soon as he hears ‘Dan Flint’, he know’s he’s right.

As Dan limps over to find a seat, Max raises his hand in a wave.

“Alright, Sarge?” He grins, which Dan returns with a tight smile as he drops into the chair next to Max.

“Been better, mate, you?” He replies, and Max shrugs.

“Can’t complain, considering,” he chirps, and Dan makes a noise that urges him to elaborate. “Finally got used to the prosthetic, found something to do that makes me feel useful again, and this is probably the last time I’ll need to come here, so, yeah, can’t complain,” he explains, and Dan nods, humming softly.

“Well, you’re definitely doing better than me, considering I threw my prosthetic at the PT last time I was here,” he grins as Max lets out a startled laugh.

“You fucking didn’t!” He denies, and Dan nods.

“I did. Stupid bitch told me I was making things harder on myself, that I wasn’t trying hard enough to get back to normal, so I showed how hard I could fucking try,” he tells him, scowling slightly as he repeats her words.

“Now I remember why the first thing they did at Basic was warn us not to piss you off,” Max snorts, and Dan laughs softly.

“Yeah, I joined the army to learn to control my temper, all it did was give me targets that had to stand there and take it. Anyway, what’s this thing you’re up to that’s making you feel useful?” He asks, and Max grins, happily telling him about the band, which turns to complaining about their continued lack of a drummer. 

When he’s done, Dan shrugs.

“I would volunteer, I was a pretty good drummer at one time, but…” He trails off, motioning to where his left arm should be.

“Why should that stop you? That bloke from Def Leppard lost his arm, and he’s still going strong,” Max insists, and Dan shrugs again.

“Yeah, maybe,” he hedges, and Max scribbles down his mobile number, shoving it into Dan’s hand as Dan’s therapist comes out and calls him, somewhat reluctantly.

“Here, take my number and just think about it, yeah?” Max rushes out as Dan stands up, and Dan nods, then turns and limps after the therapist.

After his check-up, Max meets up with the others at Matt’s for a beer. The first thing he does is tell them he might have found a drummer.

“Might have?” Josh asks as he uses the bottle opener to pop the lid of his bottle off with one hand, a move that took him nearly a year to perfect.

“Yeah, he’s under the impression he won’t be able to play anymore, ‘cause he lost his arm. I gave him my number and told him to think about it, but he always was a stubborn fucker,” Max explains, and Josh nods.

“So you already knew him, then?” He asks, and Max snorts as he takes a drink.

“You could say that. I, along with countless others, spent years trembling in fear of the terrifying legend that was Sergeant Flint,” he laughs, his smile dropping at the look of fear that crosses Josh’s face. “Don’t worry, mate. He’s a decent guy, just has a bit of a temper, is all. I’ve never seen him resort to physical violence, just… Had a hell of a pair of lungs on him, and a way with words, is all. I heard he once reduced a Lieutenant Colonel to tears, but I dunno if that’s true or not. He seems a lot calmer these days, but don’t worry over it too much, yeah?” He reassures him, and Josh seems to relax. 

Soon after, Max’s mobile rings with a number he doesn’t recognise. It turns out to be Dan, telling him he’s thought about it, and he’s seriously considering taking Max up on his offer, but he wants to meet the rest of the band first, to make sure he’ll get along with them alright, before he makes a commitment. Max agrees, and after checking with the other three, invites him to join them, giving him Matt’s address when he agrees.

Josh gets noticeably nervous as the minutes pass, flinching when the doorbell rings. Max does his best to calm him while Matt goes to let Dan in. The second Dan walks into the kitchen, he notices the tension. He pauses by the door, hovering unsurely.

“Need me to leave?” He asks slowly, and Max looks at Josh questioningly, letting him make the decision. He hesitates for a second, then shakes his head.

“Nah, it’s fine, come sit down,” he reassures him, relaxing slightly as the monster he’d built up in his head turns out to be a perfectly normal guy, a rather cute one, actually, in Josh’s opinion.

It takes less than a minute for them to experience Dan’s temper for themselves. Chris hands him a beer as Matt slides the bottle opener across the table for him. He struggles with it for ten seconds at most before throwing the bottle opener across the room.

“How the fuck am I supposed to get anything open with that useless piece of shit?!” He roars, not noticing the way Josh flinches and cringes away from him as Max looks disappointed and Matt and Chris just look surprised. After a minute or so of silence, Max retrieves the bottle opener and hands it to Josh.

“Think you can teach him?” He asks, and Josh shrugs, eyeing Dan warily. Dan finally notices Josh’s fear and sighs.

“Sorry, I’m just frustrated. Can’t seem to do anything for myself these days,” he explains softly, and Josh nods, relaxing slightly as he starts to realise Max was right, Dan doesn’t seem the type to lash out physically.

It takes a few tries, but finally, with Josh’s gentle, patient guidance, Dan manages to open a bottle with one hand. It’s clumsy and a little bit of beer sloshes out onto the table, but it’s a start.

“I think I should apologise to that PT. Looks like she might have been right,” he comments sheepishly, and Max snorts, then tenses as he realises Josh is looking between the two of them for an explanation. He’d just got Josh to relax and accept the fact that Dan isn’t going to lash out and hurt him, this is going to undo all of his hard work.

“Why, what happened?” Josh asks, and Max tries to subtly kick Dan under the table to warn him, but the leg he kicks is the prosthetic one, so Dan doesn’t feel it.

“She told me I was making things harder on myself with my temper. I might have thrown my prosthetic in her general direction,” Dan explains, laughing slightly as he says it. He stops laughing, the smile sliding from his face as he realises Josh is giving him a wide-eyed, terrified look. He turns to the others, but Matt and Chris clearly don’t know what to say either, and Max just looks resigned.

“I did try to warn you,” Max mumbles, and Dan frowns in confusion.

“You did?” He asks, and Max nods, laughing slightly.

“Yeah, kicked the wrong fuckin’ leg, though,” he adds, and Josh huffs out a laugh, freezing when Dan turns to look at him.

“Ok, I’m missing something, here,” Dan comments, and Max sighs.

“I made the mistake of telling him about the terrifying legend of Sergeant Flint. I managed to get him to calm down, until you mentioned your… Disagreement with the PT, so now he’s terrified of you again,” Max explains, but all is does is leave Dan with more questions.

Josh sees the baffled look on Dan’s face, and slumps in his chair. He doesn’t care if people know about what happened to him, he just hates talking about it. He’s going to have to, though.

“I lost my arm and both legs three years ago. I tried to leave my boyfriend, he came home earlier than he should have. He attacked me with a sledgehammer. Said he was going to make sure I couldn’t go anywhere ever again,” he says it quickly, in a stilted, emotionless way, fingers twisting the tie on his hoodie as his eyes focus on the table.

Dan tenses as he realises what Josh is telling him, realises why Josh is so scared of him. Once Josh finishes talking, there’s a tense silence for a moment, until Dan leans over and gently grips the back of Josh’s hand. It’s a bit awkward, Dan has to twist almost uncomfortably for his right hand to reach Josh’s left, but he manages. Josh flinches when Dan touches him, but doesn’t pull away.

“I am so sorry that that happened to you, but you don’t need to be scared that I’ll do something like that. I lose my temper, I shout a lot, I throw things, but never with the intention of hurting anyone. I didn’t throw my prosthetic at the PT, I threw it at the wall she happened to be standing near. I never intended for it to hit her, and if it had, the guilt would have eaten me alive. I know that me saying all of this won’t magically make everything better, but hopefully, it’ll make it a little easier for you to be comfortable around me,” he reassures him, and Josh does relax a little. He’ll probably always be a little scared of Dan, especially when he loses his temper, but he’s gentle and soft spoken enough when his temper’s in check that Josh finds it surprisingly easy to stay calm around him.

Once Josh relaxes and the tense atmosphere dissipates, Max turns to Dan.

“So, you in, then, or what?” He asks bluntly, taking a swig of his beer as Dan snorts. He hesitates for a moment, then sighs.

“I want to, but I’m not sure. I mean, who the fuck would want to listen to a band that’s got a fuckin’ deformed monster chained up behind the drums?” He asks bitterly, motioning to his scarred face as he talks, and Josh copies Dan’s movements, twisting to grip his hand comfortingly.

“You’re not a fucking deformed monster. Never let me hear you say that about yourself ever again, got it? If anyone has a problem with your scars, then we don’t fucking want them. We all have scars and bits missing, that’s the whole point of this band. So, you in?” His voice is quiet but determined, and all Dan can do is nod.

“Yeah, I’m in,” he manages finally, voice soft and slightly hoarse.

Dan spends the next few weeks reteaching himself to drum with one hand, while Josh teaches him how to do day-to-day things with one hand. He quickly realises that it wasn’t his temper holding him back, it was the therapist’s cold, aloof manner setting off his temper that was holding him back. Josh stays gentle and patient throughout the whole thing, Dan doesn’t lose his temper once, and he learns how to do things twice as fast as he was.

Once Dan’s confident in his drumming, they finish writing the album and record it, then head out on tour. They don’t try to hide the fact that they’re amputees, not that they could, with a triple amputee front man with a penchant for wearing cutoff jean shorts on stage. Dan quickly realises that Josh was right, no-one gives a fuck about his scars, they’re a damn good band, and that’s all people care about.

One thing that bothers them is when people start wanting interviews with them, and every interviewer insists on bringing up how each of them lost their limbs. They know how much Josh hates talking about it, so when it happens, they keep talking until the interviewer forgets that Josh never answered the question. Dan and Max don’t mind talking about it, they knew the risks when they joined the army. Dan uses the question to drum up support for the troops and for Help for Heroes, the charity that helped him get back on his feet after the IED.

Max talks about the freak accident that happened to him during a training exercise, and joins Dan’s cause in drumming up support for the armed forces, using his accident to remind people that soldiers are normal people who are putting their lives in danger every day to keep the country safe.

Chris explains that he lost his leg in a climbing accident, and spends much longer than he normally would talking about safety precautions and how climbers should be careful, no matter how experienced they are. Matt talks about his car crash, goes on long rants about drunk drivers, sometimes even forcing out a few tears, just to make absolutely sure the interviewer won’t remember to question Josh.

Their distraction tactics work for almost a year, until one day, near the end of the last tour cycle for their first album. They’re all waiting for the question, they’ve yet to do an interview without being asked. Finally, the interviewer; a girl in her early twenties with blue hair and a German accent; asks about it. They go through the motions, each taking turns giving their almost scripted explanations and seemingly rambling opinions, until Dan finishes, and they expect her to move on to the next question, glad to be done with their purposeful shambles of a performance.

She doesn’t, though, simply waiting expectantly for a moment, then looking at Josh.

“What about you, Josh? You never told your story,” she prompts, and they all curse silently to themselves. 

“I don’t talk about it,” Josh tells her tightly, but she won’t take no for an answer. She keeps needling him for an answer, either not noticing or ignoring when Josh starts to get visibly upset.

Dan takes one look at Josh’s tight jaw and clenched fist, and stands up, motioning for the others to follow him.

“Where are you going? We’re not done,” the interviewer demands, and Dan turns to glare at her.

“Guys, go on ahead, I’ll catch up,” he growls softly, and they don’t need to be told twice, quickly filing out of the room as Dan continues glaring at her, silently fuming as he waits for Josh to leave before he lets loose. He’s gotten good at making sure Josh isn’t around when he loses it.

The door barely clicks shut behind them before they hear what Max calls Dan’s ‘Sergeant Voice’. That terrifying, booming roar he only uses when he completely loses his cool, the one that made a Lieutenant Colonel flee in tears; yeah, turned out that rumor was true. The wall is thick enough that they can’t quite make out what he’s saying, but they don’t need to. The Voice is more than enough to get the point across, and when the interviewer runs out, sobbing apologies as she passes, they know word will spread fast, and hopefully, no-one will ask Josh that dreaded question again.

Over the past year, Josh has come to totally trust Dan, as he does the other three. Even on the very few occasions Dan loses his cool before he can leave the room, Josh barely even flinches now. Dan’s lived up to his words time and again; no matter how angry he gets, he never even considers raising a hand to anyone, and when he starts throwing things, it’s clear he’s aiming away from whoever’s in the room with him, obviously throwing to blow off steam, rather than hurt. 

At some point; Josh is never quite sure when it happened; his original thought that Dan was cute has grown, he somehow completely failed to notice the crush stage, and only notices when he’s in deep. It’s not quite love just yet, he thinks, but it’s getting there. The thought terrifies Josh, he hasn’t let anyone get close like that since… Him. He knows now that Dan would never hurt him, but the thought of being in a relationship again is too much for him to handle, and results in several panicked calls to his therapist, who has to gently talk him through breathing exercises until he calms down.

He manages to keep things under control for a while, until one night, he ends up curled up on the floor in the back lounge, sobbing raggedly through short gasping breaths as he continually tries and fails to get hold of his therapist. She’s not answering, though, and it’s making him panic more. He’s trying to remember the exercises she taught him, in the hope of calming down by himself, when Dan walks in, forehead furrowing in concern as he rushes over and drops down onto the floor beside him, pulling Josh against his chest and murmuring soothingly to him.

“It’s alright, sweetheart, you’re ok, just breathe,” he coos, and his gentle voice, mixed with his slow, calm heartbeat under Josh’s ear slowly calm him until he’s huffing softly, a few tears still slowly trailing down his face. “Better?” Dan asks softly, hand rubbing Josh’s side comfortingly as Josh nods. “Wanna talk about it?” He offers, and Josh shrugs.

His mind is still jumbled, but it’s less panicked. Now, it’s processing new information; this new, calming, even gentler side of Dan, and suddenly, things don’t seem so scary anymore.

“It’s stupid, I was just being an idiot,” he mumbles against Dan’s chest, and Dan holds him tighter.

“Don’t say that. Anything that upsets you that much is important,” Dan insists, and Josh smiles.

“That’s not what I meant. I’ve realised I was over-reacting,” he reassures him, and Dan hums doubtfully. “No, really, I know now, I had absolutely nothing to be scared of,” he insists, his voice almost serene as he sits up and kisses Dan soundly on the mouth. Dan freezes for a second, hand floundering in mid-air as his brain catches up. As soon as it does, he grips Josh’s waist tightly, pulling him closer, letting out a soft noise of approval as Josh’s fingers thread into his hair and tug slightly.

They’re really getting into it when the door opens.

“Hey, have you- Oh, sorry, do you want me to leave? I can leave, if-” Max stammers, completely caught off guard. Dan sighs against Josh’s lips and moves back just enough to speak.

“Get out, Lance Corporal, now,” he growls, and Max makes a noise of relief, his short circuiting brain glad for some direction as he quickly backs out of the room and pulls the door closed.

Josh makes a small happy noise that makes Dan grin.

“I think I’m going to need you to use your Sergeant Voice more often,” Josh purrs happily, and Dan hums in confusion.

“Thought it scared you?” He asks softly, and Josh shrugs with a grin.

“I’ve realised you’re nothing to be scared of, now do it,” he demands playfully, making Dan laugh softly, though he’s unable to wipe the massive grin off his face.

He’s about to comply, when there’s a soft tap on the door, before Max hesitantly pokes his head around the door.

“How would that work? You’ve got three limbs between you,” he muses, and Dan rolls his eyes.

“Out, Lance Corporal. Now!” He snarls, and Max eeps as he backs out again, definitely not coming back this time, no matter how curious he is.

“He has got a point, y’know…” Josh comments, and Dan shrugs.

“We’ll just have to have fun working it out, won’t we?” Dan leers, making Josh laugh long and loud. For the first time in a long time, Josh is absolutely sure that everything’s fine.


End file.
